In the last 4000 years of history, we have had less than 300 years of peace. Countries such as Iran, Iraq and Jerusalem are at war. Unlike the wars of World War I and World War II, they are involved in a Holy War. Paul tells us we are in a war of a different kind right now. We tell ourselves, I'm on the battlefield for my Lord. Tell your neighbor that right now. "I'm on the battle field for my Lord." Our scripture comes from Ephesians 6:10-18. Our sermon topic is "THE MOTHER OF ALL BATTLES."
You and I are at war! In fact, we are engaged in the mother of all battles. No war in history can compare with the battle you and I am fighting right now. This war can be the cause of your greatest joy as a Christian, or your deepest pain.
Paul tells you and me that we have become soldiers on the battlefield, the day we accepted Jesus as our personal Savior. That's when the enemy Satan got busy. That's when the bullets started flying. That's when your neighborhood became a battlefield instead of a place of residency, and a place of peace. That's when chaos came into your world and turned it up side down. No matter what you do, you can't run from it; you can't hide from it; wherever you go, it's right behind you. You run, and you run, and you run, but no matter how fast and how far you run, there is no where to hide. There is no bunker or foxhole you can crawl into that will shield you from the effects of this cosmic battle between the forces of God and the forces of Satan.
Most of us don't know we are at war. Others can feel their scars and know they have become casualties of spiritual warfare. Do you have scars this morning? Can you hold up your hands like Jesus and say "See my hands, see my scars. I'm on the battle field for my Lord."
As a result of this war, some of us are emotional causalities some of us are physical causalities, of spiritual warfare. Like many Vietnam veterans, we have post-traumatic shock syndrome. We are discouraged, depressed, downtrodden, defeated. In the family, divorce, conflict, and abuse are some of the battle scars we bear.
The essence of the war Paul is talking about is spiritual. The cause of the war is something you and I can't see; we don't know why all of this is happening to us - the cause we can't see, but the effects we can feel.
In order to fight a spiritual war effectively, we have to decipher who is involved in the war, why we are fighting this war, and what we can do to win the war.
In Paul's classic statement on spiritual warfare, Paul writes: "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." This verse identifies the enemy as Satan and his demons.
Paul wants us to see here that we make a grand mistake, if we think people are the real enemy. People can be bad, no doubt. But as bad as people can be, they are merely conduits for this greater battle -- the battle against Satan.
Satan is Mr. Slick. Slick Satan does what racists have done for four centuries in America. They make us, fight us. They make us, hate us. They make us, kill us. Satan divides and conquers. Slick Satan is so slick, he gets us to fighting people rather than getting people to fight problems.
Revelation 12 makes perfectly clear that the invisible war will break out in a visible form. In other words, the hidden will be revealed, the unseen will be seen. The fear will become the reality. We see the reality of this war in the chaos it has caused in our personal life, in our families, in our communities, and in our Church.
Let me tell you something about the devil. The devil will do whatever it takes to rob you of your peace of mind, the devil will do whatever it takes to rob you of your health. Satan endeavors to steal, kill and destroy anyone that gets in his way, and he'll do it by any means necessary.
Satan is a by any means necessary kind of devil. Satan tells us we are sick and we're not going to get well. Jesus tells us through His stripes we are healed. Satan tells us we will live in poverty. God tells us He will open the windows of heaven and pour us out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it. Satan tells us we will not have peace in our life, Jesus says, "my peace I give to you." Satan doesn't want you to hear what sayeth the Lord. If he can get us to doubt God, he has been victorious in causing us to be bound by our doubts, -- to be held hostage by our lack of faith. It is when we put our faith in God, that the strongholds of the devil are loosed, and the chains of bondage broken. As long as we doubt God, the devil will have a hold on our life. [SLOW] Satan wants, and he will cause chaos in your life.
In light of the chaos we are faced with from day to day, we find comfort in knowing we serve a God that turns chaos into order. [EXCITINGLY HUM] God takes that chaos and restores order in the family. God takes that chaos and restores order in the community. God takes that chaos and restores order in the Church. Aren't you glad we serve a God that turns chaos into order? [PAUSE]
[SLOW] So the war in heaven directly affects what is happening on earth. Now that we know who is in this war, you may want to know why we're fighting this war. This cosmic battle is about glory. Satan says to God, You cannot have all the glory in creation. I want some of the glory for myself. God's response, according to Isaiah 48:11 is "My glory I will not give to another." Paul tells us, Whatever we do, do all to the glory of God. And Jesus teaches us to pray for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory.
Satan wants God's glory. Satan doesn't give up. Satan has a plan. It's a plan to launch the mother of all wars. Ephesians 6:11 tells us how to defend ourselves. Paul alerts us that Satan has been at his plan for countless years and he is good at it. And not only is Satan good at what he does, he gives us a good time while he is deceiving us. We interfere in marriages, and it feels good to us. We prostitute ourselves, and it feels good to us. We lie, cheat and steal, and it feels good to us. We drink alcohol, and smoke crack, and it feels good to us, so good that we sell our bodies, we sell our babies in order to do all the things that feel good to us. Often times we put ourselves in the unnecessary position of fighting a war that isn't ours. We allow the devil to creep up on us like a thief in the night. Our ungodly actions open up a window of opportunity for the devil to come in and wreak havoc in our lives. [WORDABUS] If it feels good to us, we do it regard!
less of the consequences. [EXCITINGLY HUM] We live in a feel good society, in a feel good generation. We learn later through our tears that, what feels good to us is not always good for us. Satan is Mr. Feel Good. Jesus is Mr. Do Good; Jesus is Mr. Live Good; Jesus is Mr. Act Good. [PAUSE]
The consequences of sin are devastating, and the penalty is high. The penalty carries a death sentence. The wages of sin, is death.
But I have some good news for you this morning. The good news is God has a plan. Regardless of the sins you have committed, anyone who comes to Jesus Christ for salvation is delivered from the domain of the devil. [HUM] When you receive the Lord Jesus as your Savior, God sets you free.
Some of us consider ourselves veterans of Christianity and you're saying to yourself. "Preacher, preacher, I hear what you're saying, but I'm still broke, I'm still having major challenges with my health, and my family is torn apart. Preacher, I'm not so sure that's true - Preacher, I'm not sure God has set me free. If God sets me free, why am I still in bondage to the devil in my daily life? If I'm on the winning side, why am I losing so often." The truth of the matter is, many believers are loosing the battle against spiritual warfare, because they are trying to fight Satan in their own strength.
When God fights the battle for you, you win against the evil one. Lack of victory in the spiritual battle reflects a lack of understanding of our divine resources. Every Christian has problems, but it's the inability to move beyond the problem. It is the ability to get past the failure that keeps us in spiritual defeat. [EXCITINGLY HUM] Victory is found in dependency on God. Dependency on God means you have to put on the whole Armor. No matter where you are in your Christian walk right now, it is not too late to put on the armor of God. Pick up your God-given weapons and join the battle. When we learn how to use the weapons God has given us, it is only then that we will experience the thrill of victory, rather than the agony of defeat. [PAUSE]
Let me tell you the benefits of being a soldier. When a nation is at war, the government's priority is to feed and clothe its soldiers first, not its civilians. [EXCITINGLY HUM] That means you and I are left out in the cold. Soldiers who give themselves to fight, do so knowing that the government they are fighting for is committed to putting clothes on their backs, food in their stomachs, and ammunition in their weapons. Paul asks at 1 Corinthians 9:7 who at any time serves as a solider at his own expense? The answer: no one. When you enlist in God's army, He picks up the tab. When you enlist in God's army, you are His first priority. When you enlist in God's army, He provides the ammunition. When you enlist in God's army, He fights the battles for you. God has given you protection. You're not going to be protected unless you put on the whole armor God has provided. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.
The ammunition God has given us to wage successful spiritual war is prayer, and faith. We have to believe what the word of God says and apply it to every situation in our lives. You know you have serious ammunition when Jesus says, "I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever you bind on earth, will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. You've got to call the enemy out and render his power null and void in your life. God has given us the authority to call things that are not -- as though they were. When you call out the enemy, you've got to do it with power and authority; you've got to use the ultimate weapon in fighting spiritual warfare, which is the name of Jesus.
I say again, Jesus says, "I give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth, will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." At some point in time we ought to exercise that authority and tell the devil where to go.
Starting today, right now, we are going to confront the enemy and tell him he's a liar; we are going to tell the enemy we're taking back everything he stole from us. Repeat after me. Devil, you're under arrest. I've got my sword in my hand. Enough is enough. I'm coming to get my stuff. I'm taking back everything you stole from me.
[SLOW] Say Devil, I'm taking it back, I'm taking it back. Give me my joy back; give me my peace back; give me my anointing back; give me my son back, give me my daughter back; I'm taking it back. I'm taking it back. I'm taking it back. In the name of Jesus I'm taking it back.
